Your forties is the most ‘depressing’ age, but Tourism Fiji has a fix. Video / Tourism Fiji
If your 30s are for being “flirty and thriving” as the character Jenna Rink said in the film 13 Going On 30, then your 40s are for being absolutely miserable.
At least, that’s what economic professor David Blanchflower discovered in a 2020 study on age and well-being titled “Is happiness U-shaped everywhere? Age and subjective well-being in 132 countries”.
As the title describes, the Dartmouth professor examined the relationship between age and wellbeing and found the 40s were not flirty or thriving. Rather, they were the decade one was most likely to be the least happy, and 47 was the least joyful age.
Fortunately, one country believes it has the solution.
Riffing off the results, Tourism Fiji has launched a new campaign today that suggests a trip to the tropical island will “turn that middle-aged frown upside down”.
According to the tourism organisation, the onset of misery makes sense given what people in their 40s have to deal with: teenagers, mortgages and wrinkles.
“Combine tweenaged children with mortgages, high-interest rates and depleting collagen, and you’ll potentially find yourself a miserable 40-something-year-old,” the organisation said in a statement about the campaign.
The weight of responsibility that accrues by this point in life is also another significant factor, says Wellington-based clinical psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland.
“Many people will have dependent kids, alongside duties that come with ageing parents, plus potentially increasing levels of responsibility at work,” Sutherland said, adding that these things can erode your general sense of satisfaction with life.
“In your 40s, you look back with fondness at the care-free days of youth and look ahead to semi-retirement and enjoying the ‘good life’,” he said.
“You’re caught in the middle and stuck in a dangerous cycle of comparison.”
Tourism Fiji “refuses to accept this bleak fate” and has launched a campaign to “give Kiwis a way out of their ageist depression”, starring a promotional video featuring TV personality and proud 47-year-old Jaquie Brown.
The campaign encourages travellers to “trade mortgages for morning yoga and replace responsibility with relaxation” which Brown models in the video.
New Zealand TV presenter, actress and radio presenter Jaquie Brown is the face of Tourism Fiji's latest advertising campaign. Photo / Supplied
Shot in several classic Fiji holiday settings (think white sand beaches, hotel swimming pools, candle-lit restaurants and spa treatment rooms), Brown tells the audience: “In Fiji, happiness comes naturally.”
Between the dreamy settings and Brown’s encouraging script, the takeaway is clear: 40-somethings are well overdue a relaxing time away from the responsibility of family and work and Fiji is the perfect place to spend it.
Tourism Fiji’s NZ regional director Sonya Lawson seconds this.
“Fiji is the perfect antidote for those in the midst of being a busy 40-something-year-old. Fiji is the place where happiness comes naturally… even if you’re in your 40s,” she said in a statement.
The invitation to travel abroad for some “me time” will likely be received well by middle-aged Kiwis, according to data from Flight Centre.
According to the travel agency, 28 per cent of travellers in their 40s book solo trips; more than those booking as part of a family or couple. It’s a trend that has only increased recently, according to Flight Centre New Zealand’s general manager, Heidi Walker.
“In the last three months, we’ve seen more bookings in this age group with bookings up nearly 10 per cent, staying for an average of just under nine days,” she said.
The most popular regions for the age group included South-East Asia, Northern Europe, and USA/Canada.
However, according to extensive data referenced in Blanchflower’s paper, a vacation shouldn’t be the first port of call when looking to boost satisfaction in life.
“Education, marital status and unemployment are the major influences in a well-being equation,” he wrote, referencing a vast collection of independent studies into each factor. In particular, those who were educated, married and employed were more likely to score higher on well-being and happiness.
However, even for the gainfully employed 40-somethings with a husband and an education, a holiday overseas may be just the thing to lighten one’s mood.
